Welcome to ... spring?

Wednesday may have been the first day of spring, but winter is not yet ready to release its tenuous grip on the area.

John Hacker

Wednesday may have been the first day of spring, but winter is not yet ready to release its tenuous grip on the area.

A pair of winter storms will pass through the area, meaning you might be seeing snow or some other kind of winter precipitation on the ground as you are reading this.

Temperatures will also remain winter-like for the next few days with highs in the 30s on Friday and 40s the rest of the weekend and into next week, and lows in the 20s.

The National Weather Service in Springfield is calling for 1-2 inches of snow in Carthage and the surrounding area Thursday afternoon into Friday, along with freezing drizzle and possibly rainTravel could be hazardous on the roads this morning (Friday) as freezing drizzle is expected to fall overnight. The weather service office in Springfield said a thin glaze of ice could coat some surfaces Friday morning making for hazardous travel conditions..Heavier snow is expected overnight Thursday and into Friday east of Carthage, with 2-5 inches expected from Stockton to Springfield and down into Gainesville.

Another, possibly stronger storm is expected late Saturday and into Sunday, but the track of this storm, and the amounts of snow, sleet or rain that might fall, was difficult to forecast on Thursday,Any snow or sleet probably won't last very long with daytime highs in the 40s next week, but the chill will stick around for a little while as lows are expected to remain in the 20s.

The weather service said the combination of rainfall and melting snow and ice could lead to rising creeks and some flooding of low-water crossings over the weekend.